We know some golfers put the clubs in the garage at the end of October and don’t think about touching them again until someone has a Green Jacket slipped over their shoulders the following year.
But an increasing number of golfers are starting to play year-round, dusting off the cold weather golf gear, possibly encouraged by the ever-improving maintenance standards that keep even inland courses in good nick from January to January.
And why not? Winter golf is great, or rather, it can be if you’re properly prepared. If you’re half-hearted with your prep, winter golf can be utterly miserable. But if you’re clever with your cold weather golf gear, it’s quite the opposite.
Here is your 10-point guide on cold weather golf gear and getting the most out of your golf all year round.
Cold weather golf gear: your 10-point guide
1. Quality, not quantity
First thing first—this is arguably the best advice you’ll ever read about cold weather golf gear. And there’s no product placement or advertising involved in this selection—this kit is just so good.
What kit are we talking about? The Zerofit Heatrub Ultimate Base Layer.
Why do we like it? Because it keeps us warm without making us look (and more importantly feel) like the Michelin man!
Zerofit claims its gear is five times warmer than a standard base layer, and we believe them. The gear is so good that it’s making the traditional ‘layer up’ mantra redundant.
The fibres inside the garment—the ‘heat threads’—actively generate warmth, even on the slightest of natural movements, such as putting it on over your head, for example.
Because it’s so good, you can get away with wearing just the base layer and a polo on most days. On particularly bitter days, just add a jumper—that’s it. And because it doesn’t rely on compression, it doesn’t need to be tight to trap your body heat, so it’s comfy, too.
At around £55 RRP, that’s your base layer sorted and your first step towards a more enjoyable winter out on the course.
Side note: Zerofit gear is game-changing up the mountains if you ski, too!
2. Head start
Tonnes of heat being lost from your head isn’t just a lie your Mum used to tell you when you were eight. It’s true.
Again, Zerofit does a thermal beanie hat that’s naturally brilliant at retaining heat, but in truth, any woolly hat is an improvement on nothing at all.
After all, there’s nothing better at repelling rain from your head than a good old bobble hat.
3. Draft excluder
Let’s stick with the top half of the body for another cold weather golf gear tip—invest in a snood.
Again, you’ll find pricey ones, which may be better, but like woolly hats, any snood is better than no snood.
Snoods are good because they don’t restrict your swing yet cover a part of your body that’s often hard to protect from the elements. They’re also easy to take on and off as and when required.
4. Glove story
Mittens are essential for those who suffer from cold hands.
You don’t necessarily need specialist golf mittens, but they may be worth investing in for a number of reasons:
- they let you leave your golf glove on
- they’re easy to put on and take off
- they have clips that keep them together, making them harder to lose
If you can’t feel your hands, you’re unlikely to play good golf—so keep that in mind. These Ping mittens for £37 a pair are a good place to start.
5. Gripping yarn
Cold weather often comes hand-in-hand with wet weather, so you might also want to get a decent pair of wet weather golf gloves.
The reason is obvious: losing grip—or even just feeling like you might lose grip—makes the game so much harder to play. But also, wet hands equal cold hands, and we all know what that means.
The Glenmuir Macwet gloves are brilliant and reasonably priced at £30, too.
6. Leg up
Moving on to the bottom half now, Zerofit’s Heatrub Ultimate Leggings are a good place to start.
If you’re just going to buy the one base layer from Zerofit, though, we’d still recommend the top. When it’s seriously cold, you can always pop on your waterproof trousers for an extra bottom-half layer.
If you want three layers, though, wearing your pyjama bottoms underneath your golf trousers is never a bad shout!
7. Foot saviour
Not to state the obvious, but socks for Christmas have never been more joyously received than now, right?
Whether it’s one thick pair or multiple layers you prefer, make sure your feet are protected from the cold.
Four words: Zerofit Heatrub Ultimate Socks. Nothing more needs to be said!
8. Shoe shopping
We all love our summer spikeless golf shoes that are more like trainers, but winter is no time for them.
Cold weather means it’s time for spikes, but make sure you check them regularly so that they’re not clogged with mud. Muddy spikes are useless spikes.
Ecco does brilliant golf shoes, and if you can find something more stable, durable, waterproof, and, of course, comfortable than the Golf Biom G5 (RRP: £230), we’ll be very surprised.
9. Dry run
In our view, there’s only one place to look for waterproof golf gear: Galvin Green.
While Galvin Green gear isn’t always the cheapest on the market (we’re talking several hundred pounds for a waterproof jacket, for example), it’s definitely some of the best. Look after them, and they’ll last you years.
10. Best of the rest
Waterproof bags are more widely available now than ever, so one may well be on your cold weather golf gear wishlist.
A wet golf bag is a miserable experience because not only do your clubs get wet, but also your keys, phone, wallet, and anything else you might keep in there. Retrieving wet items during or after a round is a pretty dispiriting task.
We also need to talk about balls. Hi-vis golf balls are good all year round, but they are essential during the winter, especially when the courses are frosty.
If you can, go for a ‘firmer’ model to try and negate the loss of yardage. Some golfers claim that warmer balls travel further, too, so cradle them in your mittens or your headcover whenever you can between holes.
Last but not least, walking and carrying your gear is always good, but in the colder weather, it’s a great way in winter of keeping warm.
If you use a golf trolley, winter wheels are well worth investing in, as they pick up less mud, so they are easier to pull and push—not to mention they’re less damaging to the course!
Specialist golf insurance with Golf Care
All sorted for cold weather golf gear and ready to hit the course? You may want to consider protecting yourself and your stuff, too.
With Golf Care, policies include Equipment Cover up to £7,500 and Public Liability up to £10m so you can worry less and concentrate on your game more.
Click on the banner below to learn more and get a quote.
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